XX-level Hokage

However, Mashiro has always maintained an attitude towards these powerful forbidden techniques: she may not know them, but she cannot be without them. Just because she doesn't know them doesn't mean her subordinates don't.

However, it is extremely difficult to get past the Scroll of Seals. Even the Hokage cannot easily take the Scroll of Seals out. Therefore, Naruto's mission is a great opportunity for Mashiro.

As we waited, night fell.

Just as Mashiro remembered, the Third Hokage was monitoring, Mizuki lured away the guards, Naruto used the Sexy Jutsu, and Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals. "The Sexy Jutsu is quite interesting. What would happen if Sasuke used this ninjutsu?" Mashiro muttered to herself, secretly watching.

Naruto's actions continued, learning the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, discovering Mizuki's true purpose, Iruka's appearance, Iruka's injury, and Naruto's outburst.

But just as Naruto was about to defeat Mizuki, a black-clad ninja emerged from the shadows and blocked Naruto's attack, allowing Mizuki to escape.

"Oh no, the Book of Sealing!" Iruka hurriedly tried to give chase, but his injuries prevented him from succeeding. At that moment, a black figure followed.

When Mashiro appeared, the Third Hokage, who was monitoring her with a crystal ball, silently turned off the monitoring.

Mizuki was incredibly excited; he hadn't expected to actually obtain the Book of Seals. He ran for a long time until he felt exhausted and stopped. "We should be fine here," Mizuki said.

“It’s definitely all right now,” Mashiro said, emerging from the shadows.

"You are..." Mizuki was surprised and about to ask something when he saw Mashiro suddenly appear.

A kunai pierced his chest, and Mizuki looked on in disbelief, blood gushing from his mouth. But just as he was about to die, Mizuki suddenly became ruthless.

"Are you here to steal the Book of Seals too? If I die, none of us will get it."

Then, with his last ounce of strength, he threw the Book of Seals into the distance, and then collapsed to the ground, dying instantly. "How interesting."

In his past life, Mashiro actually knew Mizuki. He was a despicable and cunning person with an extremely strong sense of jealousy. Despite having little talent, he possessed immense ambition. This was the kind of person Mashiro loved to exploit, and he felt no burden even if Mizuki died.

Ignoring Mizuki's body, Mashiro walked towards the direction where Mizuki had thrown the Book of Seals. Trying to do this in front of the Byakugan, it seems that Mizuki not only lacks talent, but is also not very bright.

At that moment, in the Richiu Mountain Villa, Yakumo Kurama was painting in the courtyard when suddenly a scroll fell to the side.

Yakumo looked at the scroll beside him, hesitated for a moment, and then picked it up. "What's this?"

"This is the Book of Seals."

"Mashiro emerged from the shadows and spoke."

Yakumo became wary of Mashiro's sudden appearance. "Who are you?"

“My name is Hinata Mashiro, nice to meet you.” Mashiro extended her hand to Yakumo.

Looking at the incredibly beautiful and gentle Mashiro in front of him and her outstretched hand, Yakumo's wariness subsided. He put down his paintbrush and took Mashiro's hand in his.

"I am Yakumo Kurama."

Mashiro looked at Yakumo, and a panel appeared. Name: Kurama Yakumo

Gender: Female Age: 12 Favorability Rating: 25 Relationship: Strangers

Favorability Bonus (50): Reality/Virtual Transformation Favorability Bonus (90): Five Senses Domination

It turns out that she is Kurama Yakumo. In her previous life, Mashiro had never had any contact with Kurama Yakumo. It was only through Li Mo's memories that she learned that there was such a terrifying being in Konoha. However, those memories were like a dream to Mashiro, and she could not remember much of them. Now that she has met Kurama Yakumo, Mashiro has remembered her information.

With the interplay of reality and illusion and the manipulation of the five senses, Masashiro's eyes darkened.

"Are you drawing? But it's so late, can you really see it without a light?" Mashiro asked with a smile. "You don't need to see to draw. You can draw what you dream of," Yakumo said calmly.

"Aren't you curious why I came here?" Mashiro suddenly asked. Yakumo shook her head; she didn't care.

"The scroll you're holding is called the Book of Sealing, a forbidden book in the village. Someone stole the Book of Sealing just now, and I chased him to this location. Before he died, he threw the book away, so I followed the direction of the book here," Mashiro explained.

After listening to Mashiro's words, Yakumo handed the scroll to her. Taking the scroll, Mashiro continued, "Are you here alone?"

“I am atoning for my sins,” Yakumo said after a moment of silence. “Do you want to go out and play?” Mashiro asked.

Yakumo looked somewhat troubled, then shook his head.

"I came all this way to see you. Is there anything you'd like to eat?" Masahiro asked, but Yakumo didn't answer.

Mashiro didn't pay any attention and turned to leave when a soft voice called out, "Candy." Mashiro paused for a moment, then disappeared into the shadows.

It was late at night when Mashiro returned to the Hyuga clan compound. He turned on a lamp in his study and began copying the Scroll of Sealing. He finished copying it in the early hours of the morning, then got up and delivered the Scroll of Sealing to the Hokage's office.

In the morning, after signing in at the Ninja Academy, Iruka went to the Hokage's office. He needed to explain the Scroll of Seals to the Hokage, and Iruka was prepared to take responsibility for the incident himself.

"Iruka, what's wrong?" the Third Hokage asked.

"It's like this, Hokage-sama, last night... and then Mizuki escaped with the Scroll of Seals. Please punish me, Hokage-sama," Iruka said. "About this, Mashiro already killed the rogue ninja Mizuki yesterday, and the Scroll of Seals has now returned to where it belongs, so you don't need to blame yourself."

"Go to class," the Third Generation said with a smile.

Hearing the Third Hokage's words, Iruka breathed a sigh of relief, expressed his gratitude respectfully, and then left the Hokage's office.

A moment later, Danzo walked in.

"Sarutobi, what happened to the Scroll of Seals?" Danzo asked.

Everything was going according to plan, but right after Mizuki took the Book of Seals, my monitoring crystal was cut off. It seems Mizuki used some kind of secret technique to block the crystal's monitoring. "The Third Hokage said, puffing on his pipe.

"You suspect there's someone else behind Mizuki?" Danzo said, squinting.

The Third Hokage remained silent for a moment before uttering three words: "Orochimaru." (Author's note)

Many of the things the Third Hokage is doing now are orchestrated by Mashiro, such as framing Orochimaru this time.

Chapter Seventeen: The Taste of Chocolate

After the Scroll of Seals incident, Naruto successfully passed the test and became a genin, and then it was time to be assigned to a squad.

After Mashiro graduated, there were no other changes in the team assignments. Naruto, Sasuke, and Koro were assigned to Kakashi's Team 7, while Shino, Kiba, and Hinata were assigned to Kurenai's Team 8.

Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were in Team 10, which was under the command of Sarutobi Asuma. These divisions were naturally decided in secret.

Team 8 consists of reconnaissance-type ninjutsu: Shino's insects, Kiba's sense of smell, and Hinata's Byakugan. Furthermore, Aburame and the Inu clan are on good terms with the Hyuga clan, thus forming a team.

Class 10 is entirely composed of families with secret techniques. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio has been a combination for generations, and with the addition of Sarutobi Asuma from the Sarutobi clan, it is a complete product of family alliances.

The same applies to Team 3, which consisted of Neji, Lee, and Tenten, who graduated a year earlier. To put it nicely, this was because they were martial arts-type ninjas.

To put it bluntly, they were all commoners with certain talents, including their team leader, Kai.

The composition of Team 7 was the most unusual. Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the orphan of the Fourth Hokage, and Sasuke, the orphan of the Uchiha clan and Itachi's younger brother who was an undercover agent, were both included. Whether it was because the Third Hokage had high hopes for them or felt guilty, he specially invited Kakashi to join the team. Sakura was the most out of place in this team. According to Mashiro's guess, it was probably the Third Hokage's personal preference. After all, the Third Hokage had always encouraged commoner ninjas to rise to the top. Sakura was a top student in the class and had a good relationship with Naruto and Sasuke, so the Third Hokage made an exception and let her in.

Of course, this is what would have happened if Mashiro hadn't existed. If Mashiro hadn't used the "Kakei" technique to control the Third Hokage and graduate early, then given her status as the young lady of the Hyuga clan, her top grades, and her friendship with Naruto and Sasuke, the third spot in Team 7 would definitely have been hers. As for Sakura, she was just a commoner; she could have been placed in any commoner class.

This is why Mashiro told Sakura that she could help her be placed in the same class as Sasuke. As long as Mashiro skipped the class assignment process, the spot in Team 7 would naturally still belong to Sakura.

The class assignments were already finalized, and Mashiro didn't have time to worry about it; she had more important things to do. "Yakumo, I brought you chocolate and marshmallows today," Mashiro said as she arrived at Rikichika Manor.

Yakumo was drawing nearby and nodded when Mashiro arrived. "Still drawing?" Mashiro asked, walking up behind Yakumo.

These past few days, Mashiro has frequently visited Yakumo at Rikichiyama Manor, and she paints almost every day. "I don't know what else to do besides painting," Yakumo said calmly.

"Want to go out and play? I can take you out," Mashiro said, sitting down on a chair nearby. "No, I can't go out," Yakumo said, shaking his head.

"Why? You actually really want to go out, don't you?" Mashiro said, squinting her eyes.

Yakumo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actually, there's a monster inside me." "Ido?" Mashiro said with a smile.

This startled Yakumo, but she quickly understood, her expression turning cold: "You were sent by those people from the village, weren't you?" Mashiro didn't answer Yakumo's question, instead saying, "You've always hated the villagers; you believe the Hokage killed your parents."

"What are you talking about?" Yakumo's gaze was icy as he looked at Mashiro. The system notification that favorability was decreasing kept ringing in Mashiro's mind. Mashiro got up and slowly walked towards Yakumo.

"Have you ever thought that it was actually Ido who killed your parents? You've just been running away from reality." "What nonsense are you talking about?" Yakumo became extremely agitated, and some memories began to surface in her mind. Her paintbrush moved across the canvas, and many vines appeared out of thin air, wrapping around Mashiro.

Feeling the realism of the vines, Mashiro couldn't help but sigh. It was truly a strange ability, but unfortunately, she was still too naive. Flames erupted from Mashiro's hands, burning the vines away completely, and then she walked step by step towards Yakumo.

As Yakumo was about to continue painting on the canvas, a dark gray hand appeared out of thin air in the shadow of the easel, pulling the easel and canvas into the shadows.

Then Mashiro walked up to Yakumo and said softly, "That wasn't really your fault."

"What do you know! That monster was inside my body, and I killed them." Yakumo kept crying, and her body began to change. Ido gradually began to awaken.

"I understand, but this is not your fault."

Mashiro stepped forward and hugged Yakumo, gently stroking her hair.

“Actually, there’s a monster inside me too. When I was very young, I was kidnapped by the Cloud Ninja. Many people died that day, and I fell seriously ill. Then that monster appeared inside my body,” Mashiro said softly, holding Yakumo.

Whether it was because of Makoto's embrace or because of Makoto's story, Yakumo stopped crying, and her body returned to normal.

“That monster kept tempting me, causing me to do many wrong things. Because of that monster, my father was imprisoned, my people killed each other, and I myself had to leave school,” Mashiro said softly.

Then Mashiro gently wiped away Yakumo's tears, looked directly into Yakumo's eyes and said, "I didn't come here on behalf of the village. I came here for myself. I've heard your story, and the reason I came to find you is because we are the same kind of people."

“The same kind?” Yakumo murmured.

"We all have demons that cause us pain because of the darkness within us, so you don't need to be afraid or panicked. I will always understand you."

"I support you," Mashiro said seductively.

Looking into Yakumo's pure and innocent eyes, a warm feeling welled up inside him.

This was the first time someone had said these words to her. She was not alone; she was not a monster.

"I'll take you out to play in a few days. Girls should wear some pretty clothes," Masashi said with a smile.

The intense emotional shift caused Yakumo to avert her gaze from Mashiro's smile. "Hmm."

Finally, she nodded in agreement. [Name: Kurama Yakumo]

Gender: Female Age: 12 Affection Level: 45 Relationship: Friends

Favorability Bonus (50): Reality/Illusion Conversion Favorability Bonus (90): Five Senses Domination

Soon after, Mashiro and Yakumo sat together on the steps.

"Do you like chocolate?" Mashiro asked. "I've never had any," Yakumo shook his head.

"Didn't you eat the food I brought directly to you?" Mashiro asked.

"No, I thought you were sent by the Hokage. I always thought the Hokage wanted to kill me, so I didn't eat any of the food you brought the other day," Yakumo said.

Upon hearing this, Mashiro unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into her mouth, then kissed Yakumo under her questioning gaze.

Their lips met. For a long time.

Mashiro licked her lips and said, "Now you know what chocolate tastes like. Do you like it?"

Yakumo's gaze was somewhat unfocused, her face flushed. Upon hearing Mashiro's words, she nodded gently: "I like it." "Kurama Yakumo's favorability +15, reward: Reality-Illusion Conversion."

Mashiro left Rikyuu Manor and emerged from the shadow of a tree not far away.

What she told Yakumo wasn't actually a lie; it's just that the monster was herself.

Chapter 18: The Wind Rises